Fire Clouds Future Of Turner Castle

CASSELBERRY — Investigators suspect arson in a fire early Sunday that heavily damaged the dream castle of former Central Florida financier Glenn Turner for the second time in a year.

Flames collapsed part of the roof, destroyed the 16-room interior and damaged the castle's stone and block walls, Assistant Seminole County Fire Chief Terry Schenk said Sunday.

He said the blaze is being treated as suspicious and that county fire and sheriff's investigators are looking for the cause. The building was unoccupied when the fire started, and nobody was hurt.

The uncompleted, three-story castle and 79 acres, once owned by Turner, were sold in December for $1.8 million to investor J. Huxley Walters. He plans to build about 65 luxury houses on the estate.

Turner, who built a financial empire in Orlando during the early 1970s selling motivational classes and distributing Koscot cosmetics, is serving a seven-year jail term in Arizona for fraud. He was convicted in 1987 of bilking investors of $1.5 million in 1979 and 1980.

Sunday's fire could be the death knell for the castle overlooking Bear Gully Lake, which Turner once envisioned as a symbol and monument to the $300 million fortune he had built.

Last April, fires were set on every floor of Turner's castle less than three weeks before the structure was to be sold by the Internal Revenue Service to pay off tax debts. Fires were set to papers and construction debris, causing about $50,000 damage.

About 15 firefighters responded to the latest blaze about 5 a.m. Sunday. Schenk said there was a heavy fire on the first and second floors and flames broke through the roof. Part of the roof collapsed into the building and the second floor crumbled and fell onto the first floor, he said.

Several explosions were heard inside the building, he said, and a ''tremendous'' amount of ash was thrown into the air.

Schenk said firefighters did not try to get close to the fire because of the danger of the building collapsing. They still were able to stop the blaze spreading to two other buildings, including a boathouse.

The building continued to smolder Sunday afternoon.

Schenk said the building probably is unsafe and will have to be demolished. He didn't have an estimate on the cost of the damage because he said the building was not insured.

Walters, who lives across Bear Gully Lake from the castle, went to the scene after being awakened by a neighbor. He said the building was engulfed in flames.

Walters said he was not totally surprised because of last year's blaze and recent vandalism.

His wife, Betty, said there had been six or seven break-ins since they bought the property. Walters said vandals have sprayed graffiti on the castle's walls, and that the sheriff's office has arrested several trespassers.

He said Turner's oldest son, Terry, had told him that vandals threatened to burn down the building when asked to leave. The son has acted as a caretaker while living in an apartment next to the stables.

Terry Turner could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Walters, who specializes in finding real estate investments for Dutch and German business people, said that demolition of the castle had been considered before the fire, but that no final decision had been made.

''The sentiment we had heard from interested parties was that they would not want to build $500,000 to $1 million houses around a structure like this,'' he said. They thought it would be an eyesore, Walters said.

Before the fire, he had received inquiries from people interested in buying the castle and renovating it. That seemed even more unlikely Sunday.